Mowing-machine.



AHM-gays Patented .lune 25, |90l.

H. NAGEL.

MWNG MACHINE.

mppxicazion med July 2, 1900.)

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(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

HENRY NAGEL, OF DAHO FALLS, IDAHO.

MOWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 677,095, dated June 25, 1901.

Application filed July 2, 1900. Serial No. 22,351; (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY NAGEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Idaho Falls, in the county of Bingham and State of Idaho, have invented a new and useful Mowing-Wlachine, of which the following is a speciication.

My invention relates to the cutting apparatus of mowing-machines.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved endless traveling cutting apparatus in which the cutter-plates may be readily attached to and detached from the endless chain without employing bolts, screws, rivets, or other extraneous devices for fastening said cutter-plates to the links of the chain.

A further object of my invention is to effect improvements in the construction of the casing in which the endless traveling cutting apparatus is inclosed.

My invention consists in the peculiar eonstruction and combination of devices hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a top plan View of a mowing-machine provided with cutting apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are detail views of the endless traveling cutting apparatus. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on a plane indicated by the line c c of Fig. l.

In Figs. l and 5 of the drawings I show the frame and as much of the gear of a mowingmachine as is necessary to illustrate the connection with my improved apparatus, which is driven by a shaft 40. Said shaft is flexibly connected by a joint to a shaft 49, which slides longitudinally in and rotates with a sleeve 28, that is journaled in bearings in hangers 26 27, that depend from the front side of the frame, near one corner thereof. A sprocket-wheel 29, which is fast on the sleeve 28, is connected by an endless sprocketchain 30 to a sprocket-wheel ll1, which is loose on the axle-shaft l. is rotated by the wheels 9. A clutch l2 locks the sprocket-wheel ll to the axle-shaft or permits it to remain idle thereon. A lever 19 to operate Said clutch is connected thereto, as at 15.

A pair of top and bottom plates 3l 32 of the Said axle-shaft lV required size and shape form the inclosing case 33 of the cutting apparatus, and formed with or secured to said plates 3l 32, as the case may be, on the front sides thereof are upper and lower coacting ledger-plates 34 35, the outer ends of which are in contact with each other, as shown. A pair of sprocketwheels 36 37 are disposed between the said plates,at the inn er and outer ends thereof, and have their bearings in the said plates. The said sprocket-wheels are connected together by an endless sprocket-chain 48?*,and fast with the sprocket-wheel 37 at the inner end of casing 33 on the upper side of said wheel is a miter gear-wheel 3S. The same is engaged by a similar gear 39 on the shaft 40, which is journaled in bearings 4l on the upper side of the plate 3l. An arm 42 is hinged to the inner end of the casing 33, as at 43, the pintle 44 of said hinged joint being` parallel with the major axis of the frame 3. The inner end of the arm 42 is upturned at right angles, as at 45, and said upturned inner end of said arm bears against the outer side of the lower portion of the hanger 27 and is pivotally connected thereto by a pin or bolt 46, which is at right angles to the pintle 44. Hence the cutting apparatus may be tilted on the pivot 4G, so as to raise and lower the front side thereof, and the same may be turned on the pivot 44 to adapt the machine to ine-qualities of the ground and enable the cutting apparatus to be extended laterally7 from one side' of the frame, as here shown in Figs. l and 5, or folded upwardly thereon out of the way when the machine is not in operation or is being driven from field to field. Supporting-rollers 47 are mounted under the casing of the cutting apparatus, at the inner and outer ends thereof. Cutter-plates 48 are detachably secured to the endless traveling chain 48a by the means hereinafter described and are operated by said endless traveling chain, the said cutter-plates 4S coacting with the ledger-plates 34 35 in the cutting of the grass or grain, as will be understood.

The link-plates 56 57 on the under side of chain 48 are doubled, as shown, and the intermediate link-plates 58, which connect the said link-plates 56 57 and space them apart on the link-bolts 59, are each provided at one end on the inner side with an angular face IOC) GO, the ends of the said link-plates 5S being semicircular in form, with their curved edges concentric with the bolts 59. The cutterplates t8 are provided on their opposite edges at their inner ends with rentrant semicircular notches 61, adapted to t the semicircu the shoulders 62 thereof being Within the planes of the rear sides of said cutter-plates,

and that when the links of the chain are dis-l posed at substantially right angles to each other, which cannot be done without first detaching the chain from its sprocket-wheels or opening the chain, the cutter-plates may be detached from the chains by disposing the faces 6l on the rear sides of the cutterplates opposite the angular faces GO of the link-plates 5S, thereby enabling the linkplates to be first partly turned on the linkbolts 59 at their front inner corners, so as to clear their shoulders 62 of the link-plates 5S, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, whereupon the cutter-plates may be readily disengaged from the endless chain. Hence no rivets, bolts, lor screws are employed to connect my improved cutter-plates to the endless travelingcarrying-chain, and the cutter-plates may with great facilitybe detached from the said chai-n in order to sharpen them and readily be reattached thereto. A suitable race 64 is formed in the upper side of the lower plate 35, in which race travel the lower plates 37 of the chain. A straight flange-bar G5 is secured on the upper side of the lower plate 32 and bears against the rear side of the front vent the said front lead of said chain from being bowed when in operation.

The rear sides of the upper and lower plates 3l 32, which incase the rear lead of the endless traveling chain and the cutter -plates thereon, Contact with each other throughout the length of said oase, as shown in Figs. l and 2, the upper plate having its rear edge downturned to form a flange for this purpose. Thereby each of said plates braces the other on the rear side of the casing throughout the length thereof, and owing to the fact that the ledger-plates 3l 35 Contact with each other at their outer ends said plates 3l 32 brace each other on the front sides also, as will be understood. Hence the casing is greatly strengthened by this construction.

Having thus described my invention, I Claim- In cutting apparatus for harvesting'- inachines and the like, an endless traveling chainhavinglinks provided with seinicireular ends, the inner edge of each link being cut away to forln an angular face, as at 60, in combination with cutter-plates having curved rentrant notches on their opposite sides adapted to receive the ends of said link-plates, whereby said cutter-plates may be attached to and detached from said chain, substantially as described. l

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto ailixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY NAGEL.

lVitnesses:

WILLIAM H. HOLDEN, JOSEPH A. CLARK. 

